Would you turn with me to John
Chapter 7? This evening, Bob Coffey will
be bringing the message. I'm going to drive to Cleveland
this afternoon, and I'm going to get my throat stretched in
the morning, so that should be fun. It was either in the morning
or I'd have to wait to the end of May, so I opted for the morning. I want to begin reading in verse
10. But when his brethren were gone
up, then went he also up. unto the feast, not openly, but
as it were, in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the
feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring
among the people concerning him. For some said, He is a good man,
and others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people, albeit
No man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews. As was always
the case, there were divided opinions concerning him. Look in verse 43 of this same
chapter. So there was a division among
the people because of him. It was that way then. It is that
way now. Verse 14. Now, about the midst of the feast,
Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled,
saying, How knoweth this man letters, or learning, having
never learned? That's kind of funny for them
to say about the Lord, isn't it? He never went to seminary. That's what they're saying. He
has had no religious training in our Bible schools. How can
what he is teaching be valid? That's what they're saying. He
never went to seminary. Can we trust a man who has not
had a religious education? Verse 16. Jesus answered him. And said. My doctrine. Is not mine. but his that sent
me." Now, I've entitled this message, The Doctrine of Christ. He spoke of my doctrine, the
doctrine of Christ. Now, there is such a thing as
the doctrine of Christ. He said my doctrine
is not mine, but is that sent me. Now the first thing I want
to call to your attention is the absence of the plural. Notice he does not say my doctrines are not mine, but is that sent
me. Do you know that every time Without
exception, when the Bible speaks of doctrines in the plural, it
is referring to false doctrine. Every single time, without exception. Let me read you the times doctrines
are mentioned in Matthew chapter 15 verse 9 and in Mark chapter
7 verse 7, the Lord warns us of those who teach for doctrines,
plural, the commandments of men. Paul warned us in Colossians
chapter 2 verses 21 and 22 of touch not, taste not, handle
not. And isn't that what most people's religion is made of?
Don't touch this, don't taste this, don't handle this, and
you'll be okay. And he made this statement regarding
this touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish
with the using. If that's what your religion's
about, you'll perish in the practice of this religion. And then he
says, after the commandments and doctrines, doctrines of men. In 1 Timothy 4.1, Paul warns
us of seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy. And then we read in Hebrews chapter
13 verse 9 of diverse and strange doctrines. Plural. There is no such thing as the
doctrines of Christ. There is only the doctrine of
Christ. One unified whole. Many truths which make The truth. And if any one of these truths
are omitted, you no longer have. The truth. You see, error is
usually defined more by what is not said. Than what is said,
let me show you that from scripture, hold your finger there in John
7, turn to Matthew 23. Verse 23, the Lord says, Woe
unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. For you pay tithe
of mint and anise and cumin and have omitted, you've left out
the weightier matters of the law, that which is more important. Not you've positively said something
wrong, but you've left out what needed to be said. Quite often,
error is more defined by what is not said than what is said. Now, back to our text. Our Lord
says in John 7, verse 16, My doctrine is not mine, but his
that sent me. You see, it's the doctrine of
God. Now, I'm awful interested in
hearing the doctrine of God, aren't you? I'm not interested
in hearing the doctrines of man. I want to hear the doctrine of
God. Our Lord says, My doctrine is
not mine. By saying that, He's saying it's
not derived from any human source. It is divine. My doctrine is
God's doctrine. Very much like Paul said in Galatians
chapter 1, verses 11 and 12, he said, I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. It's not derived from any human
source. He says, I neither received it
of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ. Now, what is the doctrine of
Christ? It's a good question, isn't it? I want to know. What
is the doctrine of Christ? Well, here's the first way I'm
going to answer that. Everything He said. That's the doctrine
of Christ. Everything that He said. He said in John chapter 6, verse
63, the words that I speak unto you, every single one of them.
They are spirit and they are life. Turn with me for a moment
to Matthew chapter 28. Verse 19. Go ye, therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you." Now, anything he said is absolutely critical. There's no such thing as anything
He said that's of secondary importance. Isn't that so? I think it's amazing
when we try to judge, well, this part's important, that part's
not. These are the words of Jesus Christ. Everything He said is
of utmost importance. What is the doctrine of Jesus
Christ? He talked about my doctrine. Well, it's everything He said. But did you know that the doctrine
of Christ can be summarized by one brief statement. Only the Word of God can put
infinite truth in brief statements. Men take forever to say something.
They wind around and so on. But God gets it said very briefly,
and embellishments are not needed for the truth. Did you know that
embellishments are not needed and not required? Would you turn
with me to 2 John? 2 John. Verse 9. whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God." He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. Now, John here is speaking of
the doctrine of Christ. Now, one thing that I noticed
in reading that verse of Scripture, he that transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ. The first thing that tells me
is that to not abide in the doctrine of Christ, whatever that doctrine
of Christ is, is transgression. It is sin. You see, to not abide
in the doctrine of Christ is not an intellectual problem.
It's a sin problem. It's not an intellectual problem.
It's not, well, I'm not smart enough or I don't have enough
information or anything like that. It is a sin problem. Transgression. Notice, he says. In verse seven of the second
John. For many deceivers. Many deceivers
are entered into the world. Who confess not? That Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver. And an antichrist. Now, that's a failure of all.
The doctrine of Christ, that statement. Who so confess? That Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh, that's the confession of the truth, that's a summary
of all of the doctrine of Christ. Right there, who so confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. And to not abide in
this doctrine, we're going to talk more about that in just
a moment, but to not abide in this doctrine is a failure to
confess this doctrine. So, before we get into what this
doctrine is, there's two things I want to point out. To not abide
in this doctrine is transgression. It's sin. It's rebellion. That's
the only thing that causes it. It's not an intellectual problem.
It's a sin problem. And secondly, to abide in this
doctrine is to confess this doctrine. There's a confession made. And
what you confess is what you really believe. You speak out
publicly. You stand for it. The word means literally to speak
the same thing. This is what every believer's
confession is. Now, my confession. is what I believe, and if you're
a believer, you believe it too. You see, what we confess is what
we all believe. This is something that every
Christian is in perfect harmony and perfect agreement on. There
isn't any debate here. There isn't any room for disagreement.
There isn't any area where you might see it this way and I see
it. No, this is what every believer confesses. The Word actually
means to speak the same thing. When you confess something, you
plead guilty. I plead guilty to believing that.
Even if it cost me my life, I plead guilty. This is what I believe.
That's what a confession is. You're willing to die for what
you confess. And if you're not willing to
die for it, you don't really believe it. Now, let me repeat
that. Regarding what you really confess,
if you personally are not willing to die for it, You do not really
believe it. And you see what he says about
this thing of this is the doctrine of Christ. To fail to abide in
the doctrine of Christ, to fail to stay there is transgression. And to fail to confess this,
not just say, I believe it, but you won't confess it publicly.
Let me give you some scriptures that give the importance of this
thing of confession. Paul said this, I confess to
thee. That after the way which they call heresy, they say, that's
heretical to believe that way. He said, so worship I, the God
of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the
law and in the prophets. In Romans chapter 10, verse 10,
Paul said, with the heart man believeth unto righteousness
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And that means if I refuse to
confess this, I am not saved. And how many other ways are there
to take that? With the mouth, confession is
made unto salvation. There's no salvation apart from
this confession. Listen to this scripture in John
chapter 12, verse 42 and 43. Nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, also many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess. him, lest they should be put
out of the synagogue, for they love the praise of men more than
the praise of God. Now, the doctrine of Christ always
involves confession. You will only confess what you
truly believe, and here's the confession. Look, look in verse
seven again. Of Second John, for many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and anti-Christ. Look over in 1 John chapter 4. Verse 1, Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but try, put to test the spirits, who you're
hearing preach. You're to try me. You're not just to swallow
what I say hook, line, and sinker. You are to test what I say with
the Word of God to see if what I'm saying is true. I never say
to anybody, believe me, because I'm saying it. But if I'm preaching
the Word of God, you better believe me. Now, look what he says. Believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they're of God,
because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby
know ye the Spirit of God, Every spirit that confesses that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Now there's the Christian
confession right there. Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. That summarizes everything that is contained and represented
by the doctrine of Christ. Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. Verse 3, and every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not
of God, and this is the spirit of anti-Christ. Now, anti- means in the place
of, in the stead of. Usually, when people think of
anti-Christ, they think of something with big horns and fangs and drool coming
out of his mouth. That's not what the word means.
It means a counterfeit Christ. a substitute Christ, in the stead
of Christ. Anybody that does not confess,
I mean, publicly confess they stand for this, they're willing
to die for it, that Jesus Christ has come into flesh, anybody
that doesn't confess this is anti-Christ. Where have you heard
that it should come, and even now already is in the world?
Verse four, ye are of God, little children, and overcome them,
because greater is he that's in you than he that's in the
world. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world,
and the world heareth them. We are of God, he that knoweth
God heareth us, he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby
know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Now this
thing of Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, it has something
to do with the spirit of truth, and anything against it is the
spirit of error. Now, what is this? I love the simplicity of
it. All of the doctrine of Christ
is summarized by this one statement. Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Now, how is that the doctrine
of Christ? I've had most people thinking,
you know, it seems kind of simplistic. I mean, I believe that. I believe
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Well, what does that mean? But let's consider that very
carefully. It means something, because this is this is the most
awesome statement in all the word of God. It summarizes everything
a true believer believes. This is what a believer confesses
is whatever believer confesses. And this is what to not confess
it is to transgress. And it's the spirit of Antichrist.
Now, that's how important this statement is. What does it mean? Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Well, here's the first thing
it means. When we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh, we confess that He was before He came. We confess that He was before
He came in the flesh. He is the uncreated Christ. He is the second person of the
Trinity. He is God the Son before He ever
came in the flesh. He always was. We confess that Jesus Christ
is the only true and living God. That's what we confess. We confess
that He is the Great I Am. You remember when Moses said,
What's your name? Who am I going to tell them?
Sent me. What's your name? What am I going to tell them?
He said, I am that I am. It was Jesus Christ who said
that. I am that I am. He is the eternal God, the One
who never was or will be, but always is. He is the eternal
God. You know, even the thief on the
cross understood this. Now, when we think of somebody
who believed what we call the bare bones minimum, whatever
that's supposed to mean, we generally think the thief on the cross.
They say, well, did the thief believe that? Well, do you remember when our Lord was hanging on the middle
cross and both of these thieves were cussing? They were making
fun of him. They were angry. If you're the Christ, come down.
Save yourself and save us. But something happened to that
one thief. One kept cussing the Lord. One kept making fun of
Him. One still despised Him. And all of a sudden, that other
thief, he looked up at that one who was hanging on the cross,
seemingly so helpless. Everybody who claimed to believe
Him had forsaken Him. He was all alone. He heard what
He said. And he said to that other thief,
don't you fear God. That one hanging beside you that
you're cursing, that you're making fun of. That's God. You believe that? You know, I don't think there's
a more remarkable instance of faith than all the Word of God.
He looked at that one hanging beside Him on a tree and He seemed
so helpless. What could He do for you? He's
nailed to a tree. How could He ever help you? He
looked at that one who seemed so helpless and He said, Lord, You're the Lord. You're in control
of this. Remember me when you come in
your kingdom. I know you're coming down. I
know you're going to be successful in whatever you do. And when
you come back as a ruling, reigning king, remember me. He believed that Jesus Christ
is God. He was before He ever came. He never began to be. He is the great I am that I am. Unto us a child is born. That
child began at that time. But unto us a son is given. He's always been. He wasn't born
at that time. He's always been the Son of God.
And the government shall be upon His shoulders. And His name shall
be called Wonderful Counselor. Anybody know the next word? The
Mighty God. What comes next? the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Philip, have I been so long time
with you, and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen me
hath seen the Father. That is Jesus Christ. Now, when
I confess Him, I confess He was before he came. And secondly, I confess that
he came in the flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Turn with me for a moment to
Hebrews chapter 10. This is a quotation from Psalm 40. Verse 5, Wherefore, when he cometh into
the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not,
but a body, a body of flesh hast thou prepared thee, and burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Then said I, Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It's written
of me to do thy will, O God. Now the book he's thinking of
is not the Bible. This book was written a whole
lot longer before the Bible was ever written. I don't know how
else to explain that. He's talking about the book of God's decrees.
That book that is mentioned of in Revelation chapter 5, that's
sealed within and out, sealed with seven seals. It's full front
page and back page. Every page is filled up and it's
sealed. And what it refers to is the
book of God's decrees. Nothing can be added to it or
taken from it. And he says, lo, in the volume
of the book it's written of me. And he says, did you notice that
a body hast thou prepared? Now, Jesus Christ always has
had eternal existence. And I don't even know how to
explain all that. He's God. He's God. He's always
been. He always is. And yet in time,
He came and became flesh. And you know, this is a remarkable
thing. He's always going to be flesh.
Right now, there's a man in glory, Jesus Christ, with blood pumping
through his veins, his heart's thumping, he's breathing, he
feels he is flesh. A body hast thou prepared me. We believe that Jesus Christ,
who was before he came, actually and literally came in the flesh. And we believe, thirdly, first,
we believe he was before he came. Second, we believe he came. And
thirdly, we believe he did whatever it was he came to do. Now, whatever
he came to do in the flesh, that is precisely what he did. Now, I want you to think about
this. Whatever it was he came to do in the flesh, he did. Not he made it doable. But he
actually did it. It became history, whatever it
was he came to do. He did it. And when he said it
is finished, it was all done, whatever it was he came to do.
Now, turn over to Matthew, chapter one, so we can see at the first
chapter of the New Testament what it is he came to do. Hold your finger there in Hebrews
10. We're going to come back to that, but I want you to look
at this verse in Matthew chapter 1. And thou shalt bring forth a
son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. That's what he came to do. He
came to save His people. Who are they? The elect. Those
who believe. Those who were given to Him from
the foundation of the world. They. That's who they are. His
people. Not everybody is His people.
Those who believe. His people. He came to save them. His people.
What did He do? He came to save them from their
sin. Now look back in Hebrews 10.
Let's go on reading that passage of scripture where he said, Lo,
I come, a body of thou prepared me. Lo, I come, in the volume
of the book, verse seven, it's written of me to do thy will,
O God. Above what he said, sacrifice and offering and burnt offering
and offering for sin, that which not, neither hath pleasure therein,
which are offered by the law. Those things never took away
sin. Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh
away the first that he may establish the second by the which will,
by God's will, we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. This is a completed action. It's
already finished. It can't be repeated. Once for
all. Verse 11, And every high priest,
every priest standing daily, ministering, offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But this
man, this God man, this one who said a body has now prepared
me after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down
on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his
enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
forever. Them that are sanctified. Now, He came to save His people
from their sins. That's what His purpose. He was
before He came. He came in the flesh. He came
with this purpose to save His people from their sins. Now,
here's the question. Did He do it? Did it become a done deal? Did He Well, let me tell you what the
Lord did on the cross. I'm not talking about what he made something
that will happen in the future, but it's something that he actually
did, that he actually accomplished. First, he saved his people from
the penalty of their sins. There is therefore now, right
now, No condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. I'm
never going to have to pay for my sins. In any respect, they're
never going to be brought up. What sin? He put it away. He
put it away. I'm saved from the penalty of
my sin. That's why he died on the cross. Secondly, I am saved
from the power of my sin. That's what's called regeneration.
That's what's called the new birth. You see, there was a time
when I couldn't understand. I don't care how, I don't care
how clearly a preacher made the gospel. I couldn't understand
it. I'd hear about faith. I can remember this. I can hear
about faith and thinking, what in the world is faith? I mean, I believe,
but what's that mean? I mean, do I got it? Repentance,
what's repentance mean? I mean, what's it mean to repent
and so on? I can remember having no understanding
of these things. They were just beyond me. But I understand now. You see, sin no longer has dominion
over me. There was a time when I couldn't
believe, but I'm believing right now while I'm talking to you.
I do believe. I've been delivered from the power of sin. God gave
me life. Life that was not there before.
There was a time when I had no spiritual life. I do now. God worked a miracle in my heart.
He gave me a new heart. I've been saved from the power
of my sin. Like I said, there was a time when I couldn't believe,
I couldn't repent, I couldn't love, couldn't understand, couldn't
do anything. Spiritually dead. But God gave
me life. I've been saved from the power
of my sin. And here's the kicker. This is the part that is so glorious.
I've been saved. He came to save His people from
their sins. I've been saved from the penalty of sin. I've been
saved from the power of sin. I've been saved from the presence
of sin. Now, how can that be? When I
say that, when I say that to you, I am
conscious of sins that I have committed this week, this morning, And yet I say I'm safe from the
presence of sin. That seems kind of that seems
like you're talking about both sides of your mouth. You say
you're you say you're safe from the presence of sin, and what
is being safe from the presence of sin? That means you're glorified.
You're glorified. Justification, safe from the
penalty of sin, sanctification or regeneration, call it what
you will, that's safe from the power of sin. Glorification is being
safe from the very presence of sin. Now, you know what scripture
I'm going to read. Turn to Romans chapter 8. Verse 30. Moreover, whom he did
predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, Then he also
justified, and whom he justified, then he also glorified. And that is in the past tense.
It's not talking about something that's going to happen. It's
talking about something that is, that already is. Now, how
can that be true? You don't look very glorified
to me. I mean, do I look glorified to you? Of course not. Of course not. Am I glorified
though? What's that say? Now how can
that be true? There's only one way this can
be understood. Union with Jesus Christ. Is He seated at the right
hand of the Father? Perfectly glorified? So am I. Now this always has been and
is now the issue. Jesus Christ is coming to flesh.
He was before He came. He came in the flesh and He did.
Not He made available, but He actually did what He came to
do. He justified us. He sanctified us. He glorified
everybody He died for. He did what He came to do. There
can be no argument about this. There can be no debate. This
is what every believer believes. This is the confession of every
believer. Now, here's the question that
comes to my mind after I hear this. How can I know? When I
hear a preacher Preach it. Have you ever heard a preacher
say, I'm not preaching the doctrine of Christ, I'm preaching my own
doctrine? You've never heard a preacher say anything like that, have
you? I mean, you wouldn't listen to him if he did. No, every preacher
comes saying, I'm preaching the doctrine of Christ, I'm preaching
the truth. How can I know if he is? Well,
look back in our text in John chapter 7. Verse 16, Jesus answered
them and said, My doctrine is not mine. But that sent me, if
any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Now, here we have a promise from
him who cannot lie if, listen to me, if your desire is to know
his will. If your desire is to do His will,
if your desire is to practice His will, you will not be deceived. Now, that's God's promise. If
any man will do His will, he'll know the doctrine, whether it
be of God or whether I speak of myself. If there's a willingness
to do his will, you will not be deceived. Now, wherever false
doctrine is believed and received, there was previously a heart
that did not have this desire. There wasn't a real desire to
do his will. Where there is obedience, you will not be deceived. You'll
know of the doctrine. Now, you can tell whether I'm
telling the truth. If you really are desirous to
do his will. You'll know. You'll know. Let's
go on reading verse 18. He that speaketh of himself.
Seeketh his own glory. But he that seeketh his glory
that sent him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in
him. Now, here's the great error detector test. He that speaks
of himself, and that doesn't mean he's talking about himself.
I mean, most folks have enough sense to not just my subject
for this morning is Todd Nyberg. You don't want to listen to that,
do you? It's not talking about speaking of yourself. It's talking
about being self-prompted. He that speaks of himself, God
never sent him. He's speaking of himself. He's
self-prompted. What will he do? He'll seek his
own glory. That's what he'll do. God's glory
never really is an issue with Him, even when He says it is.
And you know, all false prophets will say they're seeking God's
glory, but they're still seeking their own glory. And that's going
to come out. It's going to come out. You'll
figure it out. If you'll do His will, you'll figure it out. But this is the motive behind
what they're doing. They're seeking their own glory.
But, He says, He that seeketh His glory that sent Him. That
is His only motive. Any other motive is a wrong motive. I don't care how religious it
sounds. I don't care how much lovey-dovey
it sounds. I'm doing this for men. I want
to see men... The only good motive is this
motive. The glory of God. Any other motive is a wrong Now
he says, but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the
same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. He's seeking God's
glory. Now, when we talk about the glory
of God, what are we talking about? Well, we talk about who gets
the credit. Who gets the credit? Who gets
the glory? Now, in preaching the doctrine
of Christ, The doctrine of grace. You know, people talk about the
doctrines of grace. Don't say that anymore. It's the wrong way to
say it. It's not the doctrines of grace. It's the doctrine of
grace. One unified whole. They all stand
or fall together in preaching the doctrine of Christ. The doctrine
of grace. Who is it that gives the glory? When we talk about... Here's a real simple way to narrow
this down. When we talk about men being
totally depraved, How much glory does man get in salvation? Any? Not a bit. When we talk about God, or when
the Bible talks about God electing a people before time began to
be saved, God's unconditional election. He did so not because
He foresaw you'd believe, but simply because He would as an
act of His own free and sovereign will, uninfluenced by anything
in you. Who gets the glory there? God
gets all the glory. None goes to man. When we talk
about the atonement of Jesus Christ the Lord, how He finish
the work the Father gave Him to do. My salvation was signed,
sealed, and delivered by what He did without respect to me. Who gets the glory when it says,
He by Himself? That means with no help from
you. He by Himself purged us of our sins. Who gets the glory?
Who gets the glory when we say the grace of God, the Holy Spirit
is invincible and irresistible, and he gives life to all those
the Father gave him and who Christ died for? Who gets the glory
there? God does. The fact that I'm persevering
right now, who gets the glory in that? Me? Let's close with Psalm 115. David, the man after God's own
heart, says in verse one, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. Can you say this with David? And mean it? Not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy. and for that truth's sake. Now,
you're not going to be fooled if you're willing to do his will.
I'm not going to be fooled if I'm willing to do his will. He's
not going to let me be deceived. Well, how can I know? How can
I know? Well, he that speaks of himself,
self-prompted, he's seeking his own glory is going to come out.
But he that seeks the glory of him that sent him, the same is
true. and no unrighteousness is in
Him. And you're going to hear this
note every time you hear the Gospel preached. To God be the
glory. Great things He hath done. So loved He the world that He
gave us His Son, who yielded His life in atonement for sin,
and opened the life gate that all may go in. Let's pray.